Disaster Plan For Your Family

Yesterday Ken talked about disasters and emergencies discussing the differences between the two. I would like to touch upon a disaster plan for you and your family. We have discussed this before but the importance of making your own disaster plan will not only prepare you, but it will also open your eyes to what you may be lacking to deal with a disaster situation. This is also a very good exercise for beginning survivalists.

What is a disaster plan? Your disaster plan should be written down, preferably in a binder. The binder will allow you, if needed, to easily make changes to your disaster plan. This will provide everyone in your home a main reference point to turn to if you are not home. Is your spouse a survivalist? Do you have latch key kids? Will they remember the right things to do in a disaster? What if you have only a few moments to evacuate your home, what will you take with you? You will feel much more secure if this disaster plan is completed and you’ve had a training session with your family.

I know that right now some of you may be thinking, ‘I know what to do if a disaster takes place.’ Will you? A main point many people don’t think of is how you will truly react when the crisis and the stress hits. Will you really be able to put on your ‘thinking cap’ when the earth is shaking, there are fires all around you and your adrenalin starts really pumping,…creating panic? The bottom line is that many people don’t know how they will truly react when the SHTF. This is why writing it all down ahead of time and keeping in a location the entire family knows, your chances of survival will be better.

There really can’t be a ‘master’ disaster plan because each family plan, to be effective, is different. This is why you and your family need to make your own disaster plan. Only you can know the special needs of your family members, such as foods and medicines. Do you have an infant? An infant will require more items than your older children, items not being used by anyone else in the household. Do you have an elderly person living with you? What about their medications? Are they on oxygen? Let’s say the disaster happens when you and your spouse are at work and your children are at school. How will you all reunite? Do you have a logistical place in mind for your family to meet in a disaster situation?

What if the roads are blocked with people in their cars trying to evacuate? There are so many people that the roads are just clogged and none of the cars are moving. Would this be a better time to bike out of the area? Or hike out of the area? Only you will know what is the best choice for your family.

Making these decisions and writing down different options, destinations etc. will help you when the crisis comes. Doing this detailed thinking ahead of time with your spouse will save you the stress of trying to think of your best scenario when the S has HTF! How thoroughly will you really be able to think when you have 15 minutes to evacuate? What about your pets? Your important papers? What if you have nothing to come back to because your home has been destroyed? Depending on your disaster, losing your home could be a very real possibility. This is why having an evacuation list written down ahead of time will help you to make sure you take your most important items with you.

I hope I have made you realize the importance of having disaster plans in place ahead of time. If you’d like to read more about what should be contained in your disaster binder, please read Ken’s article Disaster Preparedness Binder.

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